(Kathleen Joy, Helen Hudson, Joseph Rotondo, Kurt Schmeling)
Voters will choose two candidates from a group of four running for the Syracuse Common Councilor-at-Large seats in November’s election.
Two Democratic and two Republican candidates will be on the ballot Nov. 8. The Democrats are incumbent Kathleen Joy, a real estate attorney, and political novice Helen Hudson, co-founder of a local anti-violence group. The Republican candidates are Joseph Rotondo, an accountant, and Kurt Schmeling, a retired Carrier Corp. technician.
Of the four candidates, the two who receive the most votes will be elected. Councilors-at-Large represent the city as a whole, instead of a single district. The position pays $21,224 a year.
Here are sketches of the four candidates:
Kathleen Joy (Democrat, incumbent)
For Kathleen Joy, 50, politics started early.
“I was born into politics,” Joy said. Joy was born on the evening of her grandfather’s election as mayor of Fredonia, a small town about three hours west of Syracuse.
Now Joy is seeking re-election for a second term as Common Councilor-at-Large. Joy was appointed to the Common Council in May 2005. In 2007, she was elected to a full four-year term that expires in December. In 2010 she ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate’s 50th District, losing to longtime incumbent Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse. In 2008, Joy became the majority leader for the Common Council. Joy is the chairperson for economic development, downtown and metropolitan planning for the city.
Joy works as a real estate attorney for Bankers Title and Abstract. She received her law degree from Capital University College of Law in Columbus, Ohio.
For Common Councilor-at-Large, Joy said, she is seeking re-election this year to complete projects she began during her time in office. “I want to finish up what I have started,” Joy said. “Things take time.”
Her top concerns, she said, are housing, education and jobs. “I want to give people the means to good, affordable housing,” Joy said. For example, she said, the city can apply for state grants to improve subsidized housing.
On education, Joy called for improving the city’s education system by providing better resources and money. “We have to dedicate resources to our children and schools,” Joy said.
On jobs, she urged attracting renewable energy businesses. “We want to make sure we court those businesses and keep them in our city,” Joy said.
Helen Hudson (Democrat)
In her first run for elected office, Hudson, 51, is focusing on her background in community activism and labor unions. She is a lifelong resident of the Southside.
“I wanted to run for Councilor-at-Large because I want to work across the city,” Hudson said. “Many of my concerns are city issues.”
Hudson works as the labor liaison at the United Way of Central New York. She is also the co-founder and president of Mothers Against Gun Violence. Hudson started the group after her son survived a stabbing.
Hudson also does job training her community. She serves on the advisory council for Women Transcending Boundaries, an interfaith organization.
Her top concern, she said, is jobs. She calls for more education for the unemployed about searching for jobs.
“I’m all about job solutions,” Hudson said, “I work for job solutions and getting people back to work.”
Joseph Rotondo (Republican)
Joseph Rotondo, 62, is making his first run for political office.
“I’m not the typical politician,” Rotondo said. The political issues and concerns drive his views instead of party lines, he said. He is also endorsed by the Independence Party.
Rotondo owns JD Rotondo Accounting Service in East Syracuse. He is a retired Fowler High School teacher. He taught math at Fowler for 14 years. He lives on the city’s North Side.
He has always been one to talk about and follow politics, Rotondo said. And after not seeing the changes he wanted from the government he decided to run for office. “I thought it was time to get involved,” Rotondo said.
His top issues, he said, are education and business development.
On education, Rotondo said a better education system is important for the success of the city. “Education is the driving force behind why people leave the city,” Rotondo said.
On jobs, he called for attracting more businesses to the area. “I would love to get industry into the city,” Rotondo said. “We have some great areas for industry.”
The Inner Harbor, Rotondo said, is one area that could be industrialized to benefit the city.
Kurt Schmeling (Republican)
Kurt Schmeling, 68, has lived in the city for over 45 years and worked for 39 years for Carrier Corp. He lives in the North Side.
In 2003 and 2005, he ran unsuccessfully for Common Councilor-at-Large. In 2007, he ran unsuccessfully for Common Council District 1 as the Conservative Party candidate. He has served as the co-chairman of the New York State USA Refrigeration Service Engineers Society, city and county Conservative Party secretary and as a member of the Public Power Coalition of Syracuse.
The city needs to change, Schmeling said. “I decided to run because problems have not been corrected,” Schmeling. Among those problems, he said, are education, vacant housing and poor administration of the government.
On education, he criticized the school district’s management. “The city school system is not managed as efficiently as it could be,” Schmeling said. Changing the length of the school week, Schmeling said, could save the city money.
“If we switched from an eight-hour, five-day school week to a 10-hour, four-day week, the city could see 20 percent savings,” Schmeling said.
On vacant homes, Schmeling said the city must do something about the growing number of unoccupied properties. “The city used to have 12,000 vacant homes,” Schmeling said. “Now there are 22,000 and nothing has been done about the problem.”
On poor administration, Schmeling said, the city must make structural changes or face financial troubles. For example, Schmeling said, developing an electricity system owned and operated by the local government, as opposed to using National Grid, could save the city money.
“The administration is just following the status quo in the wrong direction,” Schmeling said. “It won’t be long until the city reaches bankruptcy.”
(Emily Maher is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and political science.)
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